Chasta
Derived from Spanish, meaning pure or chaste.
Name Census estimates that about 292 living Americans carry the first name Chasta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Chasta today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Chasta births was 1976 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Chasta. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
292
~ 1 in 1,173,816 Americans
Peak year
1976
26 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
2001 SSA rank
#12,315
Tracked since 1971
Census
Chasta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 286 people with the first name Chasta, which placed it at #30,451 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#30,451
National first-name rank
People counted
286
286 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chasta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chasta is White at 76.9%. The next largest groups are Black (11.2%) and Two or More Races (5.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Chasta described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Chasta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.9% · 220
- Black or African American11.2% · 32
- Two or more races5.9% · 17
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
Popularity
Chasta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Chasta from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 127 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Chasta by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Chasta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Chasta
The name Chasta is believed to have its origins in the Sanskrit language of ancient India, where it was derived from the word 'chastya,' meaning purity or chastity. This name has been prevalent in the Indian subcontinent for centuries, particularly among the Hindu communities.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Chasta can be found in the ancient Hindu scriptures, the Vedas, which date back to around 1500 BCE. In these sacred texts, Chasta is described as an embodiment of virtue and moral uprightness.
During the medieval period, the name gained popularity across various regions of India, with several notable figures bearing this name. One such individual was Chasta Devi, a revered saint and spiritual leader who lived in the 12th century CE. She was renowned for her teachings on self-discipline and spiritual enlightenment.
In the 16th century, Chasta Singh, a renowned warrior and military commander, played a crucial role in defending the Mughal Empire against invading forces. His bravery and valor earned him a place in the annals of Indian history.
Another famous bearer of the name was Chasta Bhanu Devi, a celebrated poet and author from the 17th century. Her literary works, which celebrated the beauty of nature and the human experience, are still widely read and studied today.
In more recent times, Chasta Devi Jayanti, born in 1901, was a prominent social reformer and advocate for women's rights in India. She dedicated her life to empowering women and fighting against social injustices.
While the name Chasta has its roots in ancient India, it has also found its way into other cultures and languages over time. In some cases, the spelling may have been adapted or modified, but the essence of its meaning – purity and virtue – remains intact.
People
Chasta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Chasta as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Chasta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Chasta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 292 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Chasta going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,173,816 US residents.
Is Chasta a common name?
We classify Chasta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 313 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Chasta most popular?
The single biggest year for Chasta was 1976, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Chasta is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Chasta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 286 people with the name Chasta, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,451 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Chasta in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Chasta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Chasta appears almost entirely female. Of the 286 people counted with this name, 99.3% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Chasta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Chasta is White at 76.9%. The next largest groups are Black (11.2%) and Two or More Races (5.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Chasta most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Chasta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.9% (220 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Chasta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Chasta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Chasta in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Chasta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Chasta in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Chasta can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Chasta?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.